diff --git a/docs/_templates/calendar-template.html b/docs/_templates/calendar-template.html
deleted file mode 100644
index 341927529..000000000
--- a/docs/_templates/calendar-template.html
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-<nav class="bd-docs-nav bd-links">
-    <div class="bd-toc-item navbar-nav">
-        <ul class="nav bd-sidenav">
-            <li class="toctree-l1">
-                <a class="reference internal" href="community/meeting_schedule.html">Community calendar</a>
-            </li>
-        </ul>
-    </div>
-</nav>
diff --git a/docs/_templates/sidebar-link-items.html b/docs/_templates/sidebar-link-items.html
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4d6fc9d35
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/_templates/sidebar-link-items.html
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+<nav class="bd-docs-nav bd-links">
+    <div class="bd-toc-item navbar-nav">
+        <ul class="nav bd-sidenav">
+            <li class="toctree-l1">
+                <a class="reference internal" href="community/meeting_schedule.html">Community calendar</a>
+            </li>
+            <li class="toctree-l1">
+                <a class="reference external" href="https://napari.zulipchat.com/">Community chat</a>
+            </li>
+            <li class="toctree-l1">
+                {% if version == "dev" %}
+                <a class="reference internal" href="{{ 'release/index.html' }}">Release notes</a>
+                {% else %}
+                <a class="reference internal" href="{{ 'release/release_' + version.replace('.', '_') + '.html' }}">Latest release notes</a>
+                {% endif %}
+            </li>
+            <li class="toctree-l1">
+                <a class="reference external" href="https://napari.org/island-dispatch">Blog</a>
+            </li>
+        </ul>
+    </div>
+</nav>
diff --git a/docs/conf.py b/docs/conf.py
index d5ecd1bf1..a39fd029a 100644
--- a/docs/conf.py
+++ b/docs/conf.py
@@ -107,9 +107,6 @@
 html_theme_options = {
     "external_links": [
         {"name": "napari hub", "url": "https://napari-hub.org"},
-        {"name": "Island Dispatch", "url": "https://napari.org/island-dispatch"},
-        {"name": "Community chat", "url": "https://napari.zulipchat.com"},
-        {"name": "workshop template", "url": "https://napari.org/napari-workshop-template"},
     ],
     "github_url": "https://github.com/napari/napari",
     "navbar_start": ["navbar-logo", "navbar-project"],
@@ -138,12 +135,15 @@
 
 html_sidebars = {
     "**": ["search-field.html", "sidebar-nav-bs"],
-    "index": ["search-field.html" , "calendar-template"],
+    "index": ["search-field.html" , "sidebar-link-items.html"],
 }
 
 html_context = {
    # use Light theme only, don't auto switch (default)
-   "default_mode": "light"
+   "default_mode": "light",
+   # add release version to context
+   "release": release,
+   "version": version,
 }
 
 # Add any paths that contain custom static files (such as style sheets) here,
diff --git a/docs/further-resources/napari-workshops.md b/docs/further-resources/napari-workshops.md
index 3e4b8704d..4cf6aab53 100644
--- a/docs/further-resources/napari-workshops.md
+++ b/docs/further-resources/napari-workshops.md
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ You can find more videos of talks, tutorials and demos on the
 
 ```{admonition} Got a workshop?
 If you are looking to create your own workshop, you can use the
-[napari workshop template](https://github.com/napari/napari-workshop-template)
+[napari workshop template](https://napari.org/napari-workshop-template/)
 as a starting point.
 
 If you have organized a napari workshop and would like to see it featured here